NBA Rumors: Draymond Green jealous of Kawhi Leonard?

Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs was named Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) for the second straight season. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green finished in second place again but is he getting jealous of Leonard?

According to the latest NBA rumors and speculations, Klay Thompson is unhappy and shocked that his teammate did not win the award. Green is the defensive anchor of the Warriors that only lost nine times this season.

“We all think it’s a snub, just because he’s such a big part of our defense. With him being able to guard every position. He’s our backline communicator,” Thompson told USA Today.

On the other hand, Green seems to take it well this season and expected that Leonard will win it this year. However, he still believes that he should have won the DPOY last season because the Spurs wingman only played in 60 games compared to Green’s 79.

“He’s a great defender, so it’s not really that big of a deal, like (there’s) something that I didn’t see happening. I wasn’t necessarily surprised. I felt more robbed last year,” Green said.

“I felt robbed last year. This year, I don’t feel robbed at all,” he added.

According to ESPN, Leonard received 84 first-place votes and total of 547 points from the panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters. Green got only 44 first-place votes and a total of 421 points while Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside finished third.

Leonard became the first perimeter player in NBA history to win DPOY in consecutive seasons since Sidney Moncrief won it in 1983 and 1984. In his acceptance speech via NBA.com, he gave credit to his teammates for giving him the confidence to defend his man.

“Most importantly, I want to thank my teammates. I felt like we all did a great job this year going in each and every game, being focused and striving to stop the other team,” Leonard said.